The sirens were getting louder and David’s car was still about a quarter of a mile away. The plan was so simple, it should have been easy, but there were so many things that David hadn’t taken into consideration: the dog, the cameras, and the dreadful, ear-piercing alarm.

There was no time to try and look unsuspicious; all he could do was run as fast as he could with a swollen backpack full of stolen money. A relieved grin stretched across his face as he turned the corner to see his beloved Mercedes, but disappeared almost instantly as two police cars screeched round the opposite corner and blocked his path. David really panicked now. He had no idea what to do and was frozen to the spot. Policemen were getting out of their cars and running towards him shouting and pointing guns in his direction. He looked around frantically and saw a narrow road behind him to his left.

Before even thinking about his decision, David was running full pelt down the narrow road, charged with adrenaline and thankful that it didn’t lead him to a dead-end. He stormed up a small flight of stairs, taking three at a time, and clambered onto a low roof. It was dilapidated and looked like parts of it could collapse at any second. Going as fast as he dared, David traversed the decaying rooftop, his arms stretched out to his sides for balance. It was only when David heard footsteps pounding up the stairs that he let his guard down and started to run again. It was only a few seconds later that the inevitable happened.

David’s foot smashed through a weak spot in the roof and he fell twelve feet onto a mixture of mouldy carpet and broken glass. He laid there in agony for about twenty seconds before there was another crash and a cry of pain as a policeman fell through the roof and landed on his leg. David sat up and stared at the policeman for a second, then cautiously pulled out his gun and stood up. The policeman stirred and sat up, saw David and shouted “Help! He’s down here! He’s-” David panicked again and fired two neat shots into the man’s chest.

The corpse slumped onto the floor and it took David a few seconds to get over the shock of what he’d just done. Another policeman looked down through the hole in the roof and shouted for the others. David was already out the door, running down another alley, completely lost and terrified and wishing he hadn’t stolen the stupid money in the first place.

Suddenly, he found himself on the main road again, his Mercedes just a few metres away, the police cars gone. Hardly believing his luck, he ran and jumped into the driver’s seat, terrified that he would be caught at any second. Three policemen ran out onto the road, guns drawn, just in time to see David in a black car, disappearing out of sight.

David was so relieved that he couldn’t stop smiling. Cruising along at seventy miles per hour, away from all civilization, he noticed a parking ticket stuck to his dashboard. He examined the small piece of paper for a few seconds, tossed it out the window, laughed out loud and turned up the radio.